French duo Haemoth are nastier than a sack of starved ferrets, and waste no time in proving it on third full-length In Nomine Odium. That black-and-white explosion of demonic fire on the cover is a good metaphor for the music within; a darkly atmospheric burst of evil fury that consumes all it touches. My only contact with the band prior to this was 2005’s EP Kontamination, an excellent spewing of headbangable hatred, and although In Nomine Odium doesn’t stray wildly from that formula, it clearly shows progression for Haemoth’s sound. The opening, drawn-out guitar screeches of Odium are a wonderfully effective way of increasing the listener’s nervousness, waiting for the chaos that you just know is around the corner. When that comes with the surprisingly epic Slaying The Blind, it’s almost shocking, a guitar tone that drives all before it with scourging fury as high-pitched screeches and blastbeats complete the aural picture of a world gone very wrong indeed.

That picture continues to imprint itself on your mind as you listen, the crushing nine minutes of Demonik Omniscience having no problem in drawing you in as its riffing turns hypnotic and then repelling you in horror with some demented Church organ at its close. Instrumental slow-burner Spiritual Pestilence takes pleasure in its weirdness, Deathspell Omega-esque twistedness used almost as an interlude before the mocking explosion of Disgrace pummels the listener once again. Yet despite the rawness, there’s much clarity of production, and of purpose. The eight-minute Son Of Black Light repeats a riff from the previous track to stunning effect, building in black majesty complete with ambient interlude, until you feel like you’re in the court of Satanas himself!

Bands which make you write silly things like that without irony are pretty rare in the black metal world, but it only goes to show Haemoth’s effectiveness. Closing track ...And Then Came The Decease alone deserves a paragraph of praise, a slow epic build turning to rage, some creepy piano weaving its way beneath the guitar feedback as the track ends. It’s a tribute to Haemoth that you both want to put the album on again, and don’t – perhaps easy to criticise because of the lack of new territory uncovered, In Nomine Odium nonetheless is an excellent black metal album that shows how wonderful a little Satanic bile can be every so often.